The National Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that as of April 24, 2025, a total of 884 confirmed measles cases were reported by 30 jurisdictions in the U.S., including Louisiana.

In all of 2024, there were only 285 confirmed. That number also included Louisiana. The estimated number of persons vaccinated during the school year of 2023-24 was 92.4 percent.

Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) confirms one case so far this year of an adult in Region 1, which is comprised of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes.

This is the first measles case reported in Louisiana in 2025. In 2024, three confirmed travel-associated measles cases were reported in Louisiana, all in the greater New Orleans area.

What are the symptoms of measles?

• Symptoms generally appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected. 

• Initial measles symptoms include a high fever that may spike as high as 104°, a cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. 

• Two to three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth.

• Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash will break out. It usually appears as flat red spots on the face at the hairline and spreads downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. 

• After a few days, the fever subsides and the rash fades.

I think I have been EXPOSED to measles. What should I do?

• Immediately call your healthcare provider and let them know that you have been exposed to someone who has measles. Your healthcare provider can determine if you are protected against measles based on your vaccination record, age, or laboratory evidence. Also, please contact your regional epidemiologist with the Louisiana Department of Health, who can provide additional guidance. 

• Monitor yourself for symptoms. Be on the lookout for fever and/or an unexplained rash from 7-21 days after exposure potentially occurred, as this is the time when symptoms may develop.

• If you see a provider in person, please notify your provider that you have been exposed to measles before you arrive so that they can make special arrangements to evaluate you, if needed, without putting other patients and medical office staff at risk.

• If you are not immune to measles, the MMR vaccine or a medicine called immune globulin may help reduce your risk of developing measles. Your healthcare provider can advise and monitor you for signs and symptoms of measles.

Information provided by CDC and LDH.